Reid currently serves as the United States Senate Minority Leader, after Republicans won the majority control of the Senate in the 2014 midterm elections. On March 27, 2015, Senator Reid announced that he will not seek re-election in 2016, bringing an end to his three decade congressional career.[3]

Reid served as chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission from 1977 to 1981. When Jack Gordon, La Toya Jackson's future agent and husband, offered Reid a $12,000 bribe to get approval of new games for casinos, Reid brought in the FBI to tape Gordon's bribery attempt and arrest him. After FBI agents interrupted the transaction, as prearranged, Reid lost his temper and began choking Gordon, saying "You son of a bitch, you tried to bribe me!" Gordon was convicted in 1979 and sentenced to six months in prison. In 1981, Reid's wife found a bomb attached to the family station wagon; Reid suspected it was placed by Gordon, although this has never been proven in a court of law.[4]

Prior to the 1980 Census, Nevada had only a single at-large member in the United States House of Representatives, but population growth in the 1970s resulted in the state picking up a second district. Reid won the Democratic nomination for the 1st district, based in Las Vegas, in 1982, and easily won the general election. He served two terms in the House, from 1983 to 1987.

In 1986, Reid won the Democratic nomination for the seat of retiring two-term incumbent Republican Senator Paul Laxalt. Reid defeated former at-large Congressman Jim Santini, a Democrat who had turned Republican, in the November election. Reid coasted to reelection in 1992, but narrowly defeated 1st District Congressman John Ensign in 1998 in the midst of a statewide Republican sweep. In 2004, Reid won reelection with 61 percent of the vote, gaining the endorsement of several Republicans.[citation needed]

Ensign was elected to Nevada's other Senate seat in 2000. Ensign and Reid had a very good relationship despite their bitter contest in 1998. The two frequently worked together on Nevada issues until Ensign was forced to resign from his Senate seat.[11]

While Reid won the Democratic nomination with 75% of the vote in the June 8 primary, he faced a very competitive general election for the Senate in Nevada in 2010. Reid engaged in a $1 million media campaign to "reintroduce himself" to state's voters.[12] He defeated Republican challenger Sharron Angle in the election despite losing 14 of Nevada's 17 counties.

On March 27, 2015, Reid uploaded a video to his YouTube Account announcing that he will not seek re-election in 2016, which could possibly make his seat more vulnerable to a Republican Pickup. Who will run for his seat that he's held since 1986 has not been said yet, but he has endorsed New York Sen. Chuck Schumer (D) to succeed him as Minority Leader.

Reid spearheaded several initiatives while in Congress. In 2006, Reid co-sponsored the "Prevention First Amendment" with Hillary Clinton, which would fund abortion prevention efforts such as giving women broader access to contraception. The bill faced Republican opposition and failed.[18] In January 2007, Reid brought a Senate ethics reform bill to a vote to bar congressional members from accepting gifts, meals, and trips from lobbyists and organizations employing lobbyists, to bar Senators from borrowing corporate jets for travel, and to compel Senators to disclose names of sponsors, or authors, of bills and projects. The bill passed 96–2.[19] In the 111th Congress, Reid shepherded the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) through the Senate.

Regarding same-sex marriage, Reid initially believed that "marriage should be between a man and a woman", but abandoned that position in favor of same-sex marriage in 2012.

In regard to local issues, Reid firmly opposed construction of the proposed Yucca Mountain federal nuclear waste repository in Nevada.[24] Reid opposed legalization of online poker, but has recently changed his position, a move that some have argued was influenced by "the hundreds of thousands of dollars Las Vegas casinos contributed to his re-election campaign".[25]

Reid called immigration reform one of his priorities at the 110th Congress. He supports the DREAM Act (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act), which would give certain high school graduates who had arrived in the U.S. illegally, conditional legal status so they could attend college or enlist in the military. They could then obtain permanent legal residency after completing two years of military service or two years of college.[26] In June 2009, Reid announced his intention to enact a new guest worker program as part of a comprehensive immigration reform bill.[27]

Reid supported use of force in the Middle East, but in September 2007, called for a drastic change in strategy.[citation needed] In January 1991, Reid voted to authorize the first Gulf War,[28] quoting John F. Kennedy's 1963 State of the Union speech on the Senate floor, saying "the mere absence of war is not peace."[29][30] He also voted in support of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.[31][32] In March 2007, he voted in favor of "redeploying U.S. troops out of Iraq by March 2008",[32] and later that year, said, "As long as we follow [President Bush's] path in Iraq, the war is lost."[33]

Liberal critics have argued that Reid was not doing enough to end the American military presence in Iraq,[37] and that he allowed Senate Republicans to create a 60-vote bar for passage of bills without a Democratic filibuster.[38][39][40] Conservatives have criticized Reid for his extensive use of the procedural tactic known as "Filling the tree" to prevent amendments on important bills.[41]

Reid has also been criticized for several potentially self-enriching tactics. In 2005, Reid earmarked a spending bill to provide for building a bridge between Nevada and Arizona that would make land he owned more valuable. Reid called funding for construction of a bridge over the Colorado River, among other projects, "incredibly good news for Nevada" in a news release after passage of the 2006 transportation bill. He owned 160 acres (65 ha) of land several miles from the proposed bridge site in Arizona. The bridge could add value to his real estate investment.[42] A year later it was reported that Reid had used campaign donations to pay for $3,300 in Christmas gifts to the staff at the condominium where he resides;[43] federal election law prohibits candidates from using political donations for personal use. Reid's staff stated that his campaign attorneys had approved this use of the funds, but that Reid would personally reimburse his campaign for the expenses. Citizens United filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission to investigate the matter.[44]

A series of investigative reports in the Los Angeles Times[45][46][47][48] suggested that Reid had introduced legislation and imposed pressure on regulatory agencies to advance the business interests of his close friend Harvey Whittemore, a Nevada attorney-lobbyist who contributed heavily to Reid's campaigns and leadership fund and who employed Reid's son Leif as his personal attorney. With Reid's help, Whittemore was able to proceed with construction of a $30 billion planned golf course development, Coyote Springs, a project heavily criticized by environmental groups for reasons including its projected effects on several endangered species.[49][50]

Reid apologized on January 9, 2010, for racially tinged comments he had made when Obama was campaigning for president. In private conversations, Reid had remarked that Obama could win the Presidency because the country was ready to embrace a black presidential candidate, especially one such as Obama—to whom he referred as being "light-skinned" and "with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one". These comments had been recently revealed by journalists Mark Halperin and John Heilemann in Game Change, their book about the 2008 election. In addition to his public apology, Reid called Obama to apologize; Obama accepted his apology, stating that as far as he was concerned, the book was closed on the incident.[53][54][55]RNC Chairman Michael Steele and Senators John Cornyn and Jon Kyl called on Reid to resign his leadership position in the Senate, citing Majority Leader Trent Lott resigning because of a statement relating to race. However, multiple experts said there was virtually no chance of that. DNC Chairman Tim Kaine and Senators Dianne Feinstein and Jack Reed expressed support for Reid and confidence he would retain his leadership position, and another senior Democrat indicated Reid has "produced supportive statements from key African American leaders in the Congress and civil rights community".[56]

During the summer of 2012, Reid said during an interview with The Huffington Post that he had received information from an unidentified investor in Bain Capital that presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney did not pay any taxes for 10 years.[59] The accusation was repeated on the Senate floor by Reid on August 2, 2012.[60] On the following Sunday's political morning talk shows, several Republicans disagreed with Reid.[61] According to CBS News, Romney stated, "Let me also say, categorically, I have paid taxes every year -- and a lot of taxes. So Harry is simply wrong." PolitiFact.com's Truth-O-Meter rated the accusation as "Pants on Fire!"[62] CBS reported that Romney had submitted 23 years of tax returns to the John McCain campaign in 2008, when he was being vetted for the vice presidential nomination. Although McCain did not review all the tax returns himself, he stated "Nothing in these tax returns showed that he did not pay taxes."[63]

Reid has excoriated the Koch brothers, who contribute to Republican, conservative and/or libertarian political causes and candidates. In the first seven months of 2014, Reid mentioned the Kochs in 22 separate floor speeches, calling them out about 250 times.[64] Reid used the term "un-American" to describe the brothers, prompting comparisons to McCarthyism.

It's too bad that they are trying to buy America. And it's time that the American people spoke out against this terrible dishonesty of these two brothers, who are about as un-American as anyone that I can imagine.[65]

In 2012, Reid cited fellow U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders who claimed the Koch brothers were "funding think tanks spreading an enormous amount of disinformation about Social Security".[68][69] Two years later, in 2014, Reid accused the brothers of having Republicans stall aid to Ukraine by pushing for amendments like a delay of regulation by the IRS of non-profit political advocacy groups to be included in the aid package.[70] Reid "credited his wife, Landra, for likening the Republicans' Ukrainian stance to a 'Koch addiction'".[71]

Reid was elected to the Gaming Hall of Fame in 2001.[76] In 2013, adviser Jim Margolis said of Reid, "He is unique in this city. And you see it in so many different ways. Is he the best TV talking head? No. He'd be the first to tell you that. Should he smile more? Yes. Should he say goodbye on the phone when he's done talking to you? Probably. But those are things you'd assume are part and parcel of a polished figure in Washington. That is not Harry Reid."[6]

Harry Reid (far left) and LDS leaders, President Thomas S. Monson and Elder Dallin H. Oaks, (center and far right) presenting family history to President Obama.

Reid (who was raised agnostic) and his wife (who was born to Jewish immigrant parents and grew up in Henderson) converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while he was a college student.[4] In a 2001 interview he said, "I think it is much easier to be a good member of the Church and a Democrat than a good member of the Church and a Republican." He went on to say that the Democrats' emphasis on helping others, as opposed to what he considers Republican dogma to the contrary, is the reason he's a Democrat.[80] He delivered a speech at Brigham Young University to about 4,000 students on October 9, 2007, in which he expressed his opinion that Democratic values mirror Mormon values.[81][82] Several Republican Mormons in Utah have contested his faith because of his politics, such as his statements that the church's backing of California's Proposition 8 wasted resources.[83]

On January 1, 2015, Reid was injured while exercising in his home when a piece of equipment he was using reportedly broke, causing him to fall. As a result, Reid suffered broken ribs, broken facial bones and was at risk of permanent vision loss in his right eye.[86] On January 26, 2015, Reid underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from his right eye and repair facial bones.[87]